Noe Torres

The Mexican arm of Spain's Banco Santander plans to launch digital lender Openbank by the end of March 2024 to offer checking accounts, credit cards and other services over time, the head of the local unit said on Thursday. "We need to 'tropicalize' it and make it fit for the Mexican market and regulation," Santander's Mexico country head Felipe Garcia told Reuters in an interview, adding that because the digital bank already operates in Argentina and some European countries the operation will not be starting from scratch. Mexico was an attractive market for the digital lender because it had a relatively low level of banking penetration compared to other Latin American countries and a very young population, he said, with the launch poised to help integrate more people into the financial system.

Corporate bond issues in Mexico surged in the first quarter, fueled by the post-pandemic recovery of economic activity, the country's main stock exchange, Bolsa Mexicana de Valores (Grupo BMV) said on Thursday. New placements of long-term debt securities totaled 87.1 billion pesos ($4.84 billion) between January and March, far above the 16.3 billion pesos placed over the same period of 2022, according to Grupo BMV data. "What we're seeing here basically is due to the fact that companies have been recovering following the pandemic," said James Salazar, an analyst at CI Banco.

Mexican mother-of-two Adriana Sanchez frets the $300 or so a month her husband sends from the United States will no longer cover family expenses as a sharp appreciation in the peso currency and nagging inflation crimp her budget.

Mexico's main stock index fell by more than 4% on Thursday, dragged down by a sharp sell-off in shares for the country's main airport operators following government changes to the terms of their tariff base regulation.

Mexican businesses, particularly those linked to real estate and construction, are counting on investment from so-called nearshoring to boost profits and economic growth, especially in industrial zones near the U.S. border.

Mexico's peso currency has reached its highest value versus the U.S. dollar in seven years, as the president celebrates its strength but analysts warn of harmful side effects on exports and remittances.

Mexican president-elect Claudia Sheinbaum will face the unenviable task of making good on campaign promises to boost social programs even after an election-year spending binge by her predecessor lifted the budget deficit to its highest since the 1980s.

Morena’s victory raises concerns over presidential power checks

Beyond the common challenges like currency fluctuations and supply shocks that keep the world's central bankers up at night, in Mexico there is an additional foe for those conjuring monetary policy: protection rackets.

Mexico's judicial reform has triggered investor concerns about uncertainty over the rule of law and the strength of the government's institutions, yet with the reform now priced in, some analysts argue there may be buying opportunities forming. Latin America's second-largest economy - a bellwether for emerging market sentiment more widely - has found itself at the maelstrom of international and domestic politics that has inflicted considerable pain on its financial markets. Last week, the Senate passed the reform that will change the structure of the judicial power by shifting the appointment of judges from nomination by the executive to popular elections.